Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 288, Section 287: A Bustling Crowd
Uptown.

People come and go in front of the main hall.

Every Friday afternoon is the church's regular prayer day. On this day, believers gather in the prayer hall, listen to the teachings under the guidance of the priest, share Holy Communion, and then pray together to the God of Mist.

Today, however, there were many new faces among the believers.

In order to save face, the officials deliberately took off their Western-style suits, put on more ordinary and inconspicuous clothes, and wore hats to cover themselves up. Then they walked towards the main hall with their heads down.

At the entrance, you're bound to run into colleagues who share the same thoughts. They'll exchange embarrassed smiles, nod, and say hello.

"Redeem them?"

"The same to you?"

"What a coincidence."

"you first."

Of course, not everyone is so shy.

For example, Du Shiqin, with his beer belly sticking out, said loudly and confidently, "Redeem who? I'm here to donate on behalf of the Sanitation Department!"

He was obviously making a big fuss on purpose, secretly thinking that his high-profile approach would attract Mike's attention more than other people's attempts to hide their true intentions.

It's the same principle as a teenage boy deliberately making a lot of noise in front of the girl he has a crush on.

Zhou Weili, who came in shortly after, was much more mature. He had an official attitude, neither humble nor arrogant. When he met someone he knew, he took the initiative to bring up the matter: "Amending the law is a serious matter and an important matter. As the Director of the Department of Justice, I certainly have an inescapable responsibility."

Turning around, Meng Hansheng caught up and, ahead of Zhou Weili, said to the guards at the gate, "The police received a report that a major kidnapping occurred in the Upper District today. I followed the clues here and now I'm going in to investigate personally."

The Divine Guards coldly sized him up—they had never heard of the police investigating cases and daring to investigate the church.

Just as they were about to adopt the church's authority and dismiss Meng Hansheng, Shunzi quickly came forward.

Shunzi said, "Investigate, we must investigate."

Upon seeing Shunzi, the Shenwei Army soldiers immediately pounded their chests and saluted: "Captain!"

Shunzi waved his hand and led the group of officials inside.

After passing through the front hall and then the porch, the group arrived at the entrance to the prayer hall.

Upon closer inspection, a long queue had formed.

Shunzi told the officials to line up here, while he went to the very front.

At the entrance to the prayer hall, guards of the gods stood on both sides.

The person on the left is marking up the list, while the person on the right is responsible for putting the money into the box.

Shunzi asked, "How did it go?"

The Divine Guard replied, "Everything is normal, but most of the people here are ordinary believers, and the number of officials on the list is not large. I am worried that some officials may impersonate ordinary believers to sneak in."

Yesterday, Feng Xiuhu specifically instructed that the tribute silver should only be accepted from officials, not from ordinary people.

Shunzi waved his hand, not worried: "Don't worry about it, they won't have such thoughts."

Shunzi had long noticed that these officials were all eager to pay their money, as if they were afraid of not being able to find a good spot if they were late—as if they were the most devout believers.

The way they're rushing around like this makes you think they've come to hear Willow Oriole sing.

Soon, it was Zhou Weili's turn in the line.

He opened his briefcase, casually handed a thick stack of gold notes to the guard in charge of collecting money, and asked Shunzi with concern, "Officer, is Deacon Mike inside?"

Shunzi was puzzled: "I don't know, go in and see for yourself."

Zhou Weili said anxiously, "Father Feng promised me earlier that he would arrange a good position for me..."

Shunzi suddenly realized and replied, "Since my elder brother said so, he won't go back on his word. You go in first and find where your family members are sitting; your seat is next to them." Hearing that the seats had already been arranged, Zhou Weili felt a little relieved and followed the group into the hall.

……

Feng Xiuhu was extremely busy.

He was running around the lobby, people greeting him here and there.

The hall, which was normally quite spacious, was packed with people today—not just a few dozen more officials, but also their families.

Suddenly there were hundreds more people, so many that ordinary believers couldn't find a place and had to stand crammed against the wall, their faces filled with bewilderment.

"Father Feng! Father Feng!"

Zhou Weili, sitting in the second row, called out to Feng Xiuhu from afar. He had just found his wife and sat down. He immediately looked around, trying to find Mike, but after looking around several times, he still couldn't find him.

Feng Xiuhu walked over quickly and greeted him with a smile: "Director Zhou looks good."

Actually, no. The bruise on Zhou Weili's forehead was clearly visible, and although he had applied ointment, it couldn't be covered up.

Feng Xiuhu knew perfectly well that these were probably "medals" he had earned during yesterday's fight with other officials.

Zhou Weili ignored Feng Xiuhu's teasing; his mind was only on Mike, so he quickly asked, "Why don't I see Mike?"

Feng Xiuhu comforted him, "Good things come to those who wait. Mike is the grand finale today and will be the last to appear. He's getting ready backstage right now, so just wait patiently."

After dismissing Zhou Weili, Feng Xiuhu walked away.

Mrs. Zhou, who was standing next to him, secretly tugged at Zhou Weili's sleeve and asked in a low voice, "Sir, who is Mike?"

Zhou Weili said impatiently, "Stop asking questions."

Mrs. Zhou couldn't help but care. She lowered her voice even further: "Sir, today is very strange. I was supposed to get my hair done, but on the way here, I don't know why I ended up here. I felt like I was in a daze for a long time, but I can't remember anything."

She pointed around and said, “Look at the other ladies around here, it seems they all came from this family—I’m worried this is a conspiracy by the church, so please be careful, sir.”

"Be careful!"

Zhou Weili glared at her fiercely: "What church? What church? Just remember that you were kidnapped by the kidnappers today. No matter who asks, say the same thing and never mention the church."

Mrs. Zhou shrank her neck and whispered, "I know."

Sitting across the aisle was an acquaintance, Zheng Muwen.

Although this self-righteous Director of Education was physically present, his mind was clearly not there.

His stiff expression said it all.

Zheng Muwen is having a fierce internal struggle.

When Feng Xiuhu humiliated him, he temporarily yielded, but it wasn't out of genuine sincerity. He remained the same diligent and dedicated Director Zheng, devoted to education, and his agreement to come and pray was merely a reluctant compromise.

In his office, when he witnessed Feng Xiuhu "persuading" a group of officials, Zheng Muwen breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that he had finally saved some face.

But when he arrived here today and saw so many of his colleagues turned into such grotesque states by Feng Xiuhu's "evil magic," he couldn't help but feel anger and sorrow again—where was the dignity of this government office? Could such officials still be considered officials?

As a member of the officialdom and a pillar of the nation, Zheng Muwen felt it was necessary to stand up and stop this farce.

"If you give me that sour look again, I'll slap you in public right now."

Cheng Aimei, who was standing next to him, pointed at him and said.

Cheng Aimei and Zheng Sumei were kidnapped as Zheng Muwen's family members.

P.S.: The choir brothers only cared about tying people up; they didn't even know Cheng Aimei.

(End of this chapter)